Mary’s Song
Luke 1:46-56 records Mary’s response to the miracle of Jesus’ birth. It’s a poetic expression of the effect it had on her as well as a guide for how we should respond.
My Soul Magnifies the Lord
There are two tools of magnification*: microscopes and telescopes. Microscopes make tiny things appear gigantic. Telescopes make gigantic things appear gigantic. We need to set aside our microscope, through which all the tiny aspects of our lives seem daunting and huge, and take up the telescope for a glimpse of what really matters. What are you magnifying?
The birth of Jesus caused Mary to see the grandeur of God more clearly. This is the effect Christmas should have on us as well; because if your perspective of God is off, so is your perspective of everything else.
My Spirit has Rejoiced in God, My Savior
Your pain is real. Your challenges are real. Your grief is real. Your dangers are real. BUT, you are doing Christmas incorrectly if it causes you to draw inward into depressive and anxious thoughts about yourself. The birth of Jesus frees us from ourselves. It pulls us out of ourselves into worshipping God.
Take a look at God through Mary’s telescope. Here’s what we see through her seven lenses:
1. Verse 48: God looks back at us! He loves you and knows everything about your situation.
2. Verse 49: God, the Holy (set apart) One, did something great for all people of humble estate when he came in the form of Jesus to be our Messiah.
3. Verse 50: God is merciful to those who fear him. Your whole life is built around what you fear and there is no reality of life as fearsome as God.
4. Verse 51: God destroys pride, humanity’s number one disease, with unparalleled humility.
5. Verse 52: God negated selfish ambition, which causes us to look at ourselves rather than him.
6. Verse 53: God fills the hungry with good things, sending the rich away empty.
7. Verse 54: God is trustworthy, fulfilling his promises.
Conclusion
God loves you. God is fearsome, yet merciful. God is mighty and strong. God is for the humble, lowly, and poor. God is trustworthy. And most importantly, God came to us to save us from our sins. If you want to have a joyful Christmas, be captivated by this vision of God. Let him be your savior. Magnify the Lord.
Discussion Starters
1. Have each person/family share their favorite and least favorite thing about Christmas.
2. What effect does Christmas have on you? (In other words, what does it do to you, how does it make you feel, etc.)
3. What’s under your ‘microscope’ right now? What can we do to magnify God in our Christmas traditions?
4. Read verse 47. What is the object of Mary’s rejoicing? How is this different from the rejoicing done in modern Christmas traditions?
5. Read verse 50. What does Mary mean by those who fear him? (See Psalm 27:1; 111:10; and Proverbs 31:30). What does from generation to generation mean? Are certain fears hereditary in your family? What does the fear of the Lord have to do with Christmas?
6. How can you serve each other in light of this passage?
7. How can your group pray for you this week?
*I know there are others! But for the sake of this illustration, let’s just focus on these two.
